A filmmaker has shared fascinating aerial footage of houses and cars blanketed by deep snow at the height of a fierce storm that paralysed the Buffalo region for days.

Using a GoPro camera attached to a radio-controlled drone, James Grimaldi got a bird’s eye view of the winter wonderland as snow fell at a rate of four inches per hour in the New York suburb of West Seneca.

By the time it was over the devastating storm dumped a year’s worth of snow in two days, with as much as seven feet accumulating in some neighbourhoods.

Mr Grimaldi’s video begins as his garage door opens to reveal a wall of snow that is already several feet high.

In swirling snow, the drone flies high above his neighbourhood, where everything is buried in a sea of white.

Parked cars are barely visible, rooftops are blanketed, tree branches are buckling under the weight of snow and streets are deserted.

Mr Grimaldi filmed several videos during and after the storm, which trapped people in their homes or cars and stranded some at work or wherever they could find refuge, including coffee shops.

It was responsible for 13 deaths and dozens of accidents, and it forced officials to close schools and move an NFL game from Buffalo’s snow-packed outdoor stadium to an indoor venue in Detroit.